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The highly-reputed Vin Jaune (literally "yellow wine") needs no introduction. The multiple particularities of this wine produced by a tiny vineyard never fails to impress. From the grape variety and its terroir to the production process and even the shape of the bottle, vin jaune is full of surprises. Here we reveal all, from its origins in Château-Chalon to its distinctive characteristics, and we even have a recipe for you!
Vin jaune comes exclusively from the Jura vineyard and enjoys a worldwide reputation, thanks to its specific characteristics that give it a truly unmistakable taste:
- A single grape variety: Savagnin, a native variety planted only in the vineyard of Jura and which develops the most incredible aromas.
- AOC: it is produced across the 4 appellation areas of the Jura vineyard: Arbois AOC, Côtes du Jura AOC, L’Etoile AOC and Château-Chalon AOC.
- A unique production process: after fermentation, the wine spends 6 years and 3 months in oak barrels that are never topped up.
Usually, wine barrels are regularly topped up to compensate for the wine lost through evaporation and thus avoid oxidisation. In the case of vin jaune, the barrels are not topped up, but the wine is protected from oxidisation by a layer of yeast that forms at its surface. This process gives it complex aromas of walnut, hazelnut, almond, toast, honey, cinnamon, gingerbread and so on. Like magic!
Although its production area stretches across 11 villages, vin jaune definitely originates from Château-Chalon !
In fact, the entire vineyard is devoted to the Savagnin variety. Officially one of the "Most beautiful villages in France", Château-Chalon invites you to stop over during your Jura wine trip to visit this typical winegrowers' village that stands on a clifftop and keeps watch over the vineyard stretching as far as the eye can see.
For wine-loving party animals, the highlight of the year is the Percée du vin jaune festival, a great opportunity to discover this little gem!
Découvrir Château-Chalon
The vin jaune bottle is unique. Known as a "clavelin" bottle, it holds exactly 62cl of wine, which is the quantity remaining for every litre of wine left to age in the barrel for over six years. The wine that evaporates over this period goes by the poetic name of "the angels' share".
This recipe shines a light on two great products: Vin Jaune and Bresse chicken
Ingredients:
- 1 Bresse chicken of about 2.3kg
- 1 bottle of vin jaune
- 800g of rice
- 400g of Bresse cream
- 50g of flour
- 80g of dried morels
Method:
- Rinse the morels in water one by one and leave them to soak for approximately 8 hours.
- Cut 8 chicken pieces from the carcass.
- In a casserole dish, blanch the chicken pieces in a little butter.
- Add a sprinkling of flour. Pour in a good half of the bottle of vin jaune, to cover the meat. Add salt and pepper.
- Allow to simmer for about 45 minutes, uncovered (check that the meat is cooked by pricking it with a fork).
- Just before serving, add the cream, morels and remaining vin jaune.
- Reheat to serving temperature.
- Serve with rice. Rinse the rice well after cooking, then pop it in the oven to get rid of any excess moisture.
- To be enjoyed with vin jaune served at 10 to 14°C. Delicious!
Although vin jaune is an icon of the Jura terroir, that doesn't mean there aren't other gems taking pride of place in the wine cellar and at the table! Happy tasting!
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